Defendant Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Theft from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Making Counterfeit Checks

Defendant Sentenced for Conspiracy to Commit Theft from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Making Counterfeit Checks

COEUR D’ALENE—Roberta Jean Peone, 43, of Desmet, Idaho, was sentenced today in United States District Court to time served—100 days—for conspiracy to commit theft from the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and for making counterfeit checks, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian, a visiting judge from the Eastern District of Washington assigned to hear some Idaho cases, also ordered Peone to serve three years of supervised release, with the first 120 days to be spent in a residential re-entry center, and to pay $20,772.32 in restitution. Peone pleaded guilty to the charge on September 15, 2015.

According to the plea agreement, Peone admitted that she and her codefendant, agreed to, and did, manufacture counterfeit checks and steal from a federally recognized tribal organization. Defendant Peone created the counterfeit checks using check making software on her laptop and check stock. After creating the checks, Peone and her codefendant recruited others to cash some of the counterfeit checks. Many of the checks were cashed at the Coeur d’Alene Casino, a federally recognized tribal organization. The recruits split the proceeds from the counterfeit checks with Peone and her codefendant. The total loss due to the counterfeit checks created by Peone and her codefendant was $20,772.32.

The case was investigated by Coeur d’Alene Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.